The present invention relates to serial speech synthesis and recognition systems, and in particular, to a serial speech synthesis, speech recognition system or both for Bluetooth headsets and the like.
With the continuing development of large scale integration electronics and data storage technologies, consumer electronic products are getting smaller and smaller. At the same time, their computational capabilities are growing such that they are able to perform more and more functions in a smaller form factor. This smaller form factor and lighter weight allows the creation of nearly invisible electronic products that fit on a person's ear or onto their clothing. These developments make it more difficult for users to interact with electronic products because the number of buttons required in such smaller footprint products keeps growing and the size of required displays is becoming incompatible with the small size of the electronic products. Examples of this trend in increasing complexity are MP3 players and cellular phones like the iPhone, which have used improvements in tactile interfacing to activate and address the increasing feature set. Other small electronic products such as television remote controls have become covered in buttons and capabilities that are overwhelming to non-technical users. An example of products getting smaller is the Bluetooth headset that is worn in or near the ear and that communicates with nearby cell phones. Because the device is small, there is a limit to the number of buttons on it and there is no conventional keyboard with letters and numbers, making it difficult for the user to control the interaction. This forces the user to look at the Bluetooth headset in order to know which light emitting diodes are on, what color they are and what their flashing frequency is, or he must become adept at remembering codes and pushing small buttons in special sequences in order for the headset to know what commands he wishes to execute. This forces the user to revert to the cell phone handset itself, to which the headset is paired, for status and control. Unfortunately, forcing the user to refer to the handset somewhat defeats the purpose of the headset since it is desired that the headset sits comfortably and accessibly on the person, and the handset can be left nearby (for example in a purse, car seat, brief case, purse, trunk, packet etc.), but doesn't need to be removed frequently.
Therefore, there is a need for improving user interaction with electronic devices.